New Girl in a New Town
by jcfreak4ever
Summary: Jessica Griffen's the new girl in Retroville at age 16, where she befriends Jimmy & the gang. She's a devout Christian, & is determined to share her faith with her new hometown. A mysterious thief steals her necklace, made of pure gold & gemstones, & sparks a journey to find the thief. A miracle shortly afterward changes their lives forever! ! ! And why is she so afraid of water? !
1. Chapter 1- New Town, New Friends

**Sorry it's so short, but I promise you, the chapters WILL get longer as the fic progresses! ! Bashing of this fic, just cuz it's partially spiritual, is not ALLOWED! ! ! Those who do will get reported, and possibly their account suspended/deleted! !**

**Okay, rant over! XD Enjoy!**

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 1: New Town, New Friends

Jessica gazed out the car window & watched the trees, cars, and random buildings pass them by with a sigh. She'd had a difficult time since her parents divorced earlier that year, & unfortunately, it had been rather close to her 16th birthday at the time of the divorce, which wasn't a nice birthday gift on her part. On top of that, she had to move to Texas a few months later, half the country away from her close friends she'd known for years.

She fingered the pendant on her necklace in the shape of a cross & thought, _Lord, I'm pretty sure that this move was Your will, but I admit it's very hard to move away from close friends & family..._

Her mom briefly glanced over at her & asked, "Why the long face, Jessica?"

"I miss my friends...," she replied, continuing to stare out the window.

"I'm sure you'll find new friends in our new town! I never got along with your father, so I honestly believe in my heart that it was God's will that we move far away from him," Glenda informed her daughter.

"Yeah, I never really liked him, either. He was almost never home, & when he was, he was always drunk. What a JERK!" Jessica told her.

"I agree, but this a new town, & with it comes new opportunities!" she said gladly.

Travis, Jessica's 10-year-old brother, woke up from his nap that had lasted over half the trip, found a leftover straw, & blew a spitball into Jessica's golden-brown shoulder-length hair out of boredom.

She immediately whipped her head around to see him acting all innocent in the back seat, then glared at him with her hazel eyes & snapped, "Do that ONE more time, & I swear I'm gonna hurt you!" Jessica was a fourth-degree black belt in karate, & she wasn't afraid to use it.

"Now, Jess...!" Glenda began to scold her.

"It's not my fault!" Jessica protested, "HE started it! He shot a spitball in my hair!" She jabbed her thumb towards him for emphasis over her shoulder.

"Travis...!" Glenda sternly scolded him, "Keep that up & you'll lose video game privileges for a month!"

Travis hung his head slightly & muttered, glaring at Jessica, "Yes, Mom..." Then he stuck his tongue out at her, & she just stuck hers out at him in retaliation.

Four hours later after crossing the Texan border, the family of 3 pulled into the driveway of their new home, tired since it was 1 in the morning Central Time, yet happy that God had brought them to their new home safely in Retroville.


	2. Chapter 2- Meeting New Friends

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 2: Meeting New Friends

The following day, local boy genius, Jimmy Neutron, was hard at work on yet another experiment, not expecting anything unusual to occur in the slightest. He was in his front yard, trying ever so hard to cancel out any distraction that would cause his experiment to backfire & explode.

Wrong! Cindy Vortex, his bratty, know-it-all neighbor, walked right up to him & caught him completely off guard by saying, "Yo, Nerd-tron! !"

He yelped, causing his experiment to fall to the ground & explode on contact right in his face, slightly blackening his countenance & making him quite mad.

"Vortex, are you NUTS? ! You just scared the living leptons outta me, causing my experiment to fail & explode _all_ over me! ! !" Jimmy snapped at her sternly.

"Well, excuse me for not knowing that!" she retorted, "What are ya tryin' to do? ! Make PIGS fly? ? !"

"No way! I was _trying_ to cure the common cold, but YOU caused it to explode on me! !" Jimmy shot back.

"You're saying that this was MY fault, Freak Brain? ! No way! Your experiment, _your_ fault! !" Cindy shouted.

"You scared me, so it's your fault!" he barked.

"Is not!" she hissed.

"Is, too! !" Jimmy snarled.

"Is NOT! !" Cindy growled.

"Is, too!"

"Is not!"

Libby, who'd seen the whole thing, shrieked, "SHUT UP! ! ! !"

All the commotion attracted Jessica's attention. "I'll be back later, Mom. I'm gonna meet our new neighbors!" she hollered as she made her way next door.

"Be sure to come home for supper!" Glenda replied.

"I will!" Jessica promised, walking up to the squabbling teens & clearing her throat.

No answer, so she said fairly loudly, "Um, excuse me! !"

Still no response, so Jessica practically yelled, "Hello? ? ! ! I'm talking, here! Pay ATTENTION! !"

That got their attention!

"Excuse us, miss! My deepest & utmost apologies!" Jimmy sincerely apologized, "With all this commotion going on between us, we didn't notice you walk up! You must be new here!"

"Yeah!" Cindy agreed, "May we have your name, please?"

"Certainly!" Jessica said, "I'm Jessica Griffen! May I also have your names?"

"Sure! I'm Jimmy, & these are Cindy, Libby, Sheen, & Carl(who'd just then showed up)," Jimmy introduced them to her. Then he exclaimed, "Oh, I almost forgot! C'mon, boy!"

Goddard obediently bounded up to his master & cocked his head curiously.

He gestured to his dog & added, "This my dog, Goddard! Made him myself!"

She thought for a few moments, then her mind clicked. "So you're the Jimmy Neutron I've heard so much about! !" she suddenly exclaimed, "Dude, you're like a world-saving LEGEND! !"

"I don't mean to brag, but I am sort of a hero in this town...!" he shyly admitted, blushing.

"When you're not annoying everyone with your stupid inventions!" Cindy interjected rudely, "Or causing mondo destruction!"

"You're not _helping_, Vortex! !" Jimmy hissed under his breath.

"Well, that aside, I've heard all about your heroic acts online, on the news, & in the paper, Jimmy! I admire you so much! !" Jessica happily informed him.

"I'm glad to hear that. Wanna see my lab?" he offered.

"Sure!" Jessica practically squealed out of excitement.

"Great! Let's go, guys!" Jimmy told the gang, motioning for them to follow him inside, which they did.


	3. Chapter 3- Later at the Candy Bar

**Okay, so there's a run-on sentence in this one, but it was the only way I could think of to have Jessica explain her necklace's symbolic meaning! ! heheh... Just don't give it a second thought, okay? ? The necklace itself is integral to the plot, and will prove a useful tool in future chapters.**

**Okay, enough of my yammering... On with the fic! ! !**

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 3: Later at the Candy Bar

A little while later, Jessica emerged from Jimmy's lab with the others, exclaiming, "That is the _coolest_ lab I've ever seen!"

"Really?!" Jimmy gasped with a huge grin on his face.

"You BET! ! !" she agreed, "What better place to study nature, discover its amazing properties, & create things for the benefit of mankind, not to mention occasionally achieve the seemingly impossible?!"

"Aw, shucks, Jessica...," he said bashfully, "You really know how to make me blush!"

"Oh, boy...," Cindy muttered, rolling her eyes.

Libby saw it & whispered in her ear, "Are ya jealous of Jessica, Cin? ?"

"No, of course not, Libby! WHY would I be jealous of her?!" she tried to convince her, but Libby wasn't buying it.

Sheen couldn't help but overhear their conversation & interjected, "Oh, I dunno... Cuz she's so dang CUTE? ?"

"Be QUIET, Ultra-Dork! ! !" Cindy snapped at him, though she couldn't help thinking, _I hate to admit it, but __he's right..._

Then Carl suggested to the gang, "How about a trip to the Candy Bar, guys? ?"

"Ya know, that's not a half-bad idea, Carl! Let's go!" Jimmy agreed, and led the gang towards that location, which only took them 10 minutes via his hovercar.

Once there, they went inside & up to the counter, where Sam was waiting impatiently for them to order something. "Hurry up & order already! I've got a yoga class at 5, yeah!" he demanded, drumming his fingers on the counter.

They gave him their orders & seated themselves at a booth.

Sheen, ever the observant one, immediately asked, pointing at Jessica's necklace, "What's that cross on your necklace mean?"

"It was my great-grandmother's," she informed them proudly, "The gemstones inside it stand for 3 very important concepts: the rubies stand for the fact that every one of us on this planet are sinners; not one of us are perfect. We may have our good qualities in each of us, but we cannot attain perfection on our own. But, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ; Who was born to a virgin, lived 33 years on Earth & performed wonderful miracles such as raising the dead & giving sight to the blind, was beaten & crucified while bearing all our past, present, & future sins & died so we wouldn't have to in the final days, was buried in a tomb & rose again 3 days later, returned to heaven 30 days after that, & promised to come again someday for those who have truly accepted His gift of salvation from our sins; represented by the central diamond, we can become perfect in Him someday! The cross itself is a symbol of His death & resurrection, showing that He conquered death & proves that we won't be deceased forever since He's coming again for those who've truly accepted His gift of salvation. That good enough of an explanation for ya?"

They all just stared at her with wide eyes and mouths agape for a few moments, then Jimmy informed her, "Yes, that was quite an explanation, Jessica! Well said!

"By the way, who many carats IS that necklace of yours worth? ?"

"Seventy-five, or approximately $45,000," she told him, "Why do you ask?"

When he heard that, he sputtered, "Fo- fo- FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND dollars?! ?!" Then he fainted right there on the spot.

When he came to 5 minutes later, Jimmy found himself laying on his back on the Candy Bar floor with the other 5 teens staring down at him all around him. "Say something, Neutron!" Cindy persisted.

"Wha- What happened?" he wanted to know.

"Ya fainted," Libby said.

"Why?" Jimmy asked.

"You were just shocked at how much my necklace was worth: $45,000," Jessica added helpfully.

"WHOA! !" he exclaimed, then got up, gathered his wits, & firmly informed her, "Jessica, someone could easily steal that thing if they knew it was worth 45 grand! ! Someone like-"

But before he could finish, a tall, skinny, masked, black figure with only their eyes showing whisked by them & flew out the Candy Bar double-doors, snatching Jessica's necklace from right off her neck in the process.

The gang immediately tore after the thief, but after exiting the Candy Bar, they were nowhere to be found.

"Stop, THIEF! !" Jessica shrieked after them, but it was no use.

"I'm afraid it's no use, Jessica," Jimmy told her solemnly.

"No way! ! ! I will not rest until my necklace is located!" she snapped, her strong will not wavering a hair, "So, who's with me?!"

After she stuck out her hand, one by one, the rest of the gang placed each of theirs on top of hers. "Deal! !" they all agreed in unison.

The search for Jessica's thief had officially begun!


	4. Chapter 4- Brush with Death, a Miracle!

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 4: A Brush With Death and a Miraculous Rescue!

"So, how exactly are we gonna track the person who stole my necklace? ?" Jessica warily questioned, "We saw her disappear without a trace!"

"Wait a minute, 'her'?!" Libby repeated, confused, hands on her hips.

"How do you know the suspect was female?!" Cindy exclaimed, "We barely got a glimpse of them!"

"Well, she snagged the necklace from ME, so I got a good, yet brief, look at her figure... She looked like she went to the gym to work out a _lot! !_" the new girl explained to them.

Sheen piped up and added, "And her green eyes were strikingly beautiful... Almost as if I'd seen them before somewhere..."

"And I think I saw part of her black hair sticking out of the head area of her black suit...," Carl interjected helpfully.

"So," Jimmy concluded, "The clues are a striking athletic figure, green eyes, and black hair. There's only ONE person in this town with that description... and that is-"

"UltraLord?!" Sheen interrupted impatiently with an eager look to his eyes.

"NO! ! !" everyone else except Jessica, who sported an expression of confusion on her face, yelled at him at once.

"Alright, DANG! ! You don't have to yell!" he protested, backing away a couple steps.

"Who's UltraLord?!" Jessica wanted to know, baffled.

"Some _lame_ cartoon DOLL Sheen's been obsessing over for, like, ever...!" Cindy remarked, rolling her eyes with her arms crossed and glaring at him.

"ACTION FIGURE! ! ! !" Sheen almost shrieked, extremely annoyed, "And he's _not_ lame! !"

Rubbing his ears a bit since Sheen was standing right next to him, Carl put in, "Ow, my ears! ! Easy on the yelling, Sheen! And he gets really upset when someone calls it that..."

"I can see that...," Jessica noted with a little giggle.

"Gas planet...!" Jimmy just muttered under his breath, slapping his forehead, "As I was saying, before I was rudely _interrupted_, our culprit is none other than Beautiful Gorgeous!"

"I knew those eyes looked familiar!" Sheen said excitedly.

"Precisely!" his genius friend replied, "Now, all we need to do is track her down so the 45 grand necklace can be returned to its rightful owner, Jessica Griffen!"

"Just one thing, though," Libby pointed out, "None of us actually saw where Beautiful went!"

"No, but we can track her position! She has a tracking device in her head, placed inside her around 5 years ago while she was in prison before she was released from a 2-week sentence due to her exceptionally good behavior," Jimmy told them, "I can track it on my watch! So, let's board my hovercar and let's get going!"

The group of teens boarded his hovercar, he started it up, set his watch to track Beautiful, and they were soon on their way!

On the way to locate her, Cindy asked, curious, "So, where exactly is she, Neutron?"

"My sensors indicate she's somewhere in the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern U.S., just southwest of Phoenix, so that's where we're headed, Cindy," he replied confidently, "And we're presently passing over New Mexico..."

"Well, hurry up! I'm getting bored!" Sheen griped from the front passenger seat, bored out of his mind.

"Short attention span? ?" Jessica whispered to Libby.

"You have NO idea, girl...," she quietly responded with a sigh.

"We'll get there when we get there, Ultra-Dork! !" Cindy snapped. Sheen could really get under her skin like no one else could, and really drove her almost to the breaking point at times! She was a black-belt in karate, and she wasn't afraid to use it!

As for Carl, the boredom caused him to fall asleep, snoring loudly.

_Something tells me it's gonna take a while to get used to all their quirks..._ Jessica thought to herself, a glazed look in her eyes while glaring at Cindy. After all, she was a karate expert, too, and wasn't afraid to show it when needed!

She noticed Jessica glaring at her, so she whipped her head around to her side and hissed, "What?!"

"I'm a black-belt in karate, so you better be on your best behavior, Cindy...," the new girl warned her.

"Well, so am I, missy! So, I suggest you keep your distance in the near future!" Cindy barked back.

"That's quite enough, you two!" Jimmy retorted while keeping his gaze in front of him, "We're nearing our destination in a couple minutes, anyway, so zip it!"

"Yeah, whatever...," the two girls both said in unison.

A few minutes later, the hovercar touched down on the sandy desert floor in southwestern Arizona. Using his watch as he and the others climbed out, he started to inform them, "According to this, Beautiful's directly-" Then he noticed a helicopter-shaped shadow looming over them ominously, and immediately looked upwards, finishing his statement nervously, "-above us?! Look out! ! She's got heavy artillery!"

From her perch in the helicopter looking down at them, Beautiful cocked her laser-annihilator gun she'd had on hand, about the size of a large military gun, and sneered, aiming at the group's leader, "It's time to say 'sionara', Neutron! !" With that, she fired and a bright blue laser beam shot down at the speed of light and hit its target, landing him on his back and electrocuting him severely. He emitted a shriek of pain, then it was all over as he quickly fell unconscious.

Beautiful just smirked and added evilly, putting her gun away and using that annoying laugh of hers, "There's no one to save you kids from this desert heat _now! !_" She then flew off in the distance, leaving the teens distraught over the condition of their leader.

"Oh, no, JIMMY! !" Carl yelled, hurrying to his friend's side.

"This CAN'T be happening! !" Sheen exclaimed, extremely freaked out while shaking his shoulder and receiving no response.

"Why now?!" Libby cried, getting down on her knees and covering her face with her hands, "And WHY him?!"

"No, no, no, NO, _NO! ! ! !_" Cindy freaked, a tear or two streaking down her cheeks while she desperately checked him for a pulse, but nothing, "Jessica, if you know CPR, _use it! ! !_"

She immediately got on her knees beside the fading teen, placed her hands in the correct CPR positions, and pushed on his chest several times, shrieking, "C'mon, C'MON, wake up, Jimmy! ! Please don't die on me! ! !" But, in spite of her efforts, there was no heartbeat or pulse indicative of life in him. Help had come too late for the teen genius.

One by one, all five teens burst into tears, knowing there was no hope left now...

Then, after a few moments of sobbing, Cindy remembered something Jessica had said only 45 minutes earlier. "J-Jessica, get yourself t-together and listen to m-me!" she urged despite her heaving chest because of her crying, "D-Didn't you s-say y-you were a b-believer in G-God?! Perhaps your God c-could h-help us! !"

Bringing her sobbing down to a sniffle, Jessica replied in a shaky voice, "I-It's w-worth a sh-shot..." She then got down on her knees again and prayed, "God, p-please send your S-Spirit upon m-me... A dear f-friend a-and acquaintance has just p-passed a-away, and it's f-f-far too SOON for h-him to l-leave us! ! So p-please, f-fill me with Y-Your Spirit so th-that I-I-I may lay my h-hands on him and through Y-You re-restore h-h-his life! !" Jessica burst into tears again as she laid her shaking hands on Jimmy's abdomen, using every ounce of faith she had that God would bring him back.

A few angsty moments passed, then, in a miraculous turn of events, Jimmy began to breathe again, coughing a few times before opening his eyes. He looked around at the still-weeping group and asked, sitting upright while rubbing his head, "Hey, why's everyone crying like that?"

At that instant, all five teens immediately jumped on him and spawned a five-second-long group hug until he started gasping for breath while saying, "Uh, guys-! I can't- breathe-! !"

They all let go of him right away while muttering words of apology, backing away a few steps and giving him some room.

"Sorry 'bout that, Neutron," Libby admitted, blushing.

"It's okay, it's okay! !" Jimmy reassured them, then a thought came to him and he added questioningly, "Why is everyone acting so relieved to see me, as if I'd been gone for a decade?!"

"Don't you remember Beautiful Gorgeous about five minutes ago?!" Carl exclaimed, "She had a gun! !"

He thought this over for a couple moments, then his mind clicked. "Of course! ! She was standing in the helicopter hovering above me, then a few moments later, she shot a laser beam at me! It threw me onto my back, giving me a nasty shock, then everything went black. I remember seeing an ephemeral light at the end of a dark tunnel, so I moved towards it for a few moments before it disappeared. Then I thought I saw some angelic being standing before me, and he was saying something, but I couldn't make out what was being said. Before I could say anything to him, he laid his hands on me, and before I knew it, I opened my eyes to see you guys crying like crazy!"

"Whoa, talk about an en-_light_-ening experience! !" Sheen teased, distracted as usual.

Libby just smacked his face and snapped, "This isn't a joke, Sheen! Sheesh! !"

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his face, "Okay, Libby! Jeez! !"

Jimmy couldn't help but laugh slightly at Sheen's antics, then he additionally asked as he stood up, "After I blacked out, what exactly happened before I woke up again? ?"

Getting up with the rest of the teens, Jessica explained, "Well, Sheen tried shaking your shoulder, and when that didn't work, Cindy checked for a pulse, then she had me use CPR on you. I tried that several times before giving up, since you weren't waking up from it. That was when you breathed your last, and we all burst into tears! Then Cindy reminded me what I'd said about my necklace back at the Candy Bar, that I was a believer, so, still crying my eyes out, I laid my hands on you and asked my God to revive you. Within a few moments, you coughed a few times and opened your eyes."

Jimmy heard it all with a shocked expression on his face, especially when she described him coming back to life! He shook his head after a few moments, regaining his composure, then gasped in awe, "You healed me! I am completely indebted to you for eternity! ! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Jessica!"

"Oh, no, Jimmy. Don't thank me! Thank the Lord Jesus! He's the One Who restored your life!" she corrected him gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, so there actually _is_ a God?!" Cindy questioned, extremely confused.

"There apparently IS, cuz a few moments after Jessica prayed to Him, I was alive again!" Jimmy noted excitedly, then paused a moment and added, "Though, this goes against every known law of science...! How is that possible?"

"That's where this little thing called 'faith' comes in!" Jessica told him, "It is said in the Holy Bible that faith alone can move mountains. Of course, it's meant metaphorically, but there's no doubt that, with faith, it's possible even in the physical sense!"

"Wow, really?!" Carl gasped, hardly believing his ears.

"You bet! With God, anything is possible!" she reassured them, her hand on her heart and a few joyful tears streaking down her cheeks.

"I guess this 'faith' thing is actually worth gettin' into," Libby mused aloud, thoughtfully stroking her chin.

"If she's THAT passionate about it, then I say count me in!" Sheen decided, "It actually sounds kinda fun!"

"You have NO idea, Sheen...!" Jessica informed him, "Faith in God is like a journey that lasts your entire life! It may have its ups and downs, but it never disappoints in the long run!"

"That's great and all, Jessica, but we came out into this desert for a reason, right? Your priceless $45,000 necklace?" Cindy verified, pointing in the direction the helicopter had went.

"D'oh! ! I completely forgot! !" Jimmy exclaimed, slapping his forehead, "Beautiful could be miles away by now! Let's get going! !"

The six teens, plus Goddard, scrambled back into the hovercar, he started it up, and they were very soon on their way to locating Beautiful again.


	5. Chapter 5- She's Hiding Something

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 5: She's Hiding Something...

"So, where exactly did Beautiful go, Jim? I'm getting tired from riding around so much...," Carl told Jimmy with a big yawn.

"Well, Carl, according to her tracking device," he informed his friend, "She's stopped somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, and seems to have gone underwater..."

"So, that's where we're headed now, right?" Jessica verified, an uneasy look on her face.

"That would be correct according to the radar," Jimmy informed her, not really paying attention to anything other than what was directly in front of him.

But Cindy caught a glimpse of her worried look, and curiously asked, "Why do you look so nervous, Jessica?"

_Man, how can I explain this to her without revealing my secret?!_ she thought nervously, twirling her hair a bit, _I'll just tell her that I'm afraid of water. Yeah, that's it!_ Then she spoke up after a few moments, saying with shifty eyes, "Well, I'm just nervous because... the water scares me. Ya know, water-born diseases, aquatic venomous snakes, carnivorous fish, you get the idea. Especially sharks!"

"Okay...," Libby replied, a little unsure about her iffy response.

Sheen turned to face her from the front seat of the hovercar and added in an effort to shove her fear aside, "C'mon, Jessica! What's a little water gonna hurt ya?! I love swimming! A little water never hurt anyone! And there probably aren't any sharks around for miles!"

"I have my reasons!" she snapped at him, "Let's just leave it at that, okay?!"

"Okay, jeez! Ya don't need to get all snappy about it! Gosh!" Cindy exclaimed as the hovercar came to a halt on the surface of the ocean.

"Okay if I just wait here for you to return?" Jessica wanted to know, remaining seated on the floor of the hovercar as the rest of them jumped into the water.

"Uh, okay, if you want to, Jessica...," Jimmy told her as he passed out some air gum so they could breathe underwater.

"Good luck on finding the culprit!" she called after them as they dove beneath the water's surface. She then waited patiently, Goddard right by her side, for them to return, hopefully with Beautiful Gorgeous apprehended.

As the five teens swam downward, looking for a clue that would lead them to their target, Carl pointed out a tad nervously, "Do we have to swim for very long, cuz most of my clothes make me chafe when wet after a while..."

"Okay, EW! Bad visual alert!" Libby griped with a grimace on her face as she swam with the others.

"That really wasn't necessary, Carl," Jimmy said with an equally disgusted look.

"That aside, we really aren't getting anywhere," Cindy reminded them, "All I see is either a coral reef on one side or a deep ocean chasm on the other."

Then Sheen seemed to spot something, pointing below them as he hollered, "Hey, I think I just saw some lights turn on down there!"

Libby looked where he was pointing and saw what he meant, telling him, "Yeah, I see it, too, sweetie! That's definitely not bioluminescent fish we're seein'!"

"You're right, babe! Guys, get over here!" he called over to them, attracting their attention.

Jimmy took a brief look and commented, "Are you sure that's not bioluminescent fish you're seeing? All I see is a lot of coral."

"Look again, Neutron...!" Libby gently scolded him, pointing in the direction Sheen had.

He swam a bit closer and scrutinized where the light had been seen more closely, then gasped, "Hey, this coral's artificial! No tiny polyps on this section of the reef!"

"And there looks like there's some sort of handle, too!" Cindy put in helpfully, swimming up to it for a better look.

Libby swam over and gave it a tug, opening the hatch in a snap.

"Smart move, Libs!" Sheen complimented her, causing her to blush.

"This way!" Jimmy instructed, leading the way into the secluded underwater area. Once they were inside, the hatch closed by itself, a large automated door in front of that shutting immediately afterword. A drain in the floor then proceeded to drain all the water from the area, them settling down onto their feet as they looked around.

"Wow, where are we?" Carl wondered aloud.

"Sure looks like an evil lair to me...," Cindy observed, "But they sure did a poor job trying to disguise it!"

"Exactly!" Jimmy agreed, "Anyone could tell that the section of reef was artificial! Now, let's go..." He led them through another smaller automatic door that led to a long hallway slanted downwards at a five-degree angle.

"Hold it!" Carl suddenly exclaimed, causing the group to stop where they were.

"For once, good thinking, Carl! There could be laser traps in this hallway...," his best friend warned.

"No, that's not it. I just have to sit down for a minute...," he told him, breathing heavily.

"O-kaaayy, he's off my boat," Libby stated uneasily, hands on her hips.

"We've only walked a few hundred feet, Carl," Cindy reminded him, astonished.

"I get tired real easily," Carl gasped, breathing deeply from his inhaler and taking a seat on the cold metal floor.

"Well, it was a good idea to stop, anyway, Carl, " Jimmy informed him and the rest of the group, "I'll use my watch to spray a laser-revealing mist to detect any lasers that might be blocking our path." He pressed a button on his watch and a cloudy mist was sprayed from it onto the floor in front of them, revealing several red criss-crossing lasers cutting off their path.

Then, the door at the end of the hallway suddenly slammed shut automatically and the ground beneath them began to shake at a magnitude four.

"Jimmy, what's happening?!" Carl freaked, unsteadily getting up to his feet.

"Earthquake!" Sheen exclaimed, glomping Libby and holding her for dear life.

"Sheen, get off me, sweetie...! Somethin' tells me this isn't any normal earthquake!" she gasped, gently pushing him away.

"You may be right, Libby! It feels as though something is rising from the sea floor! Let's head back to my hovercar!" Jimmy instructed the gang, leading them back to where they entered the hideout, the large automatic door thankfully wide open again. Before heading up the ladder that led to the trap door, he handed out some more air gum so they could breathe underwater, then headed up the ladder with them close behind him. With a quick spin of the spoked wheel on the hatch, the door opened wide and a surge of seawater rushed into the hideout, though they still clung to the ladder for dear life while the area filled with water.

Once the area was completely filled, they let go of the ladder and swam out the opening towards the hovercar's floating silhouette on the ocean's surface, where Jessica was still waiting for them with Goddard.

Upon arriving with them each clinging to the edge of the hovercar, Carl gasped, "Phew, we're back, but the ocean's still shaking!"

"I was wondering what was taking you guys! You happen to retrieve my necklace yet?" Jessica wanted to know, then added, "And why is the water shaking so much?!"

Pointing to where some sort of dome was rising above the water's surface, Cindy told her, "No, not yet, sorry. And I believe THAT'S why the ocean's quaking so much!"

"Dang, it's huge!" Sheen observed, wide-eyed, then said additionally, starting to climb back into the hovercar, "I gotta get back in here. I'm wrinkling up like a prune!"

Fear gripping her entire being, Jessica protested, "That's far enough! Don't get any closer to me!"

"Jeez, what's gotten into you?!" he questioned her warily, pausing for a moment or two.

"Yeah, Jessica!" Cindy put in, "It's just us!"

"Are you blind?! You're all dripping wet!" she snapped, backing up in between the two front seats of the hovercar, "Just have Goddard dry you off or something, okay?!"

"Uh, okay, if you insist, Jessica...," Jimmy said uneasily as he climbed aboard, "Goddard, humanoid-dry-off mode!"

He barked and what looked like a fire hose, but actually emitted warm, dry air, popped out of his back hatch and he used it to dry off each person as they entered the hovercar.

After they got settled again, Carl gasped and pointed at the dome, which was completely out of the water by then, "Hey, look! The dome's opening up!"

"Gas planet! They never give up, do they?!" Jimmy griped, taking his post at the driver's seat and speeding them over to the dome.

By the time they arrived there, the dome had opened completely, revealing a large, hi-tech laser of some sort, and who was at the controls was none other than Georgia Calamitous, otherwise more well known as Beautiful Gorgeous! Jimmy parked his hovercar at the base of the platform, which was thankfully level with the surface of the water, so they immediately charged onto the platform and confronted the villainess.

"What exactly do you plan on doing with this machine, Beautiful?!" he demanded furiously, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"And HOW exactly are you powering-?" Jessica additionally began to snap, then saw a familiar form placed in the center of the laser's control panel and nearly shrieked, "So, you used my valuable great-grandmother's necklace pendant to power this contraption! A complete disgrace against my family's lineage! Why, I oughtta...!"

"Jessica, easy... Just calm down, now...!" Carl tried to say so she'd hopefully calm down, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, she sighed, "You're right. She's probably several years older than any of us."

Bored with all the chit-chat, Beautiful just groaned and hissed, "To answer your former question, this machine I've rigged will transform this putrid planet into black hole bait! By using this to place an Earth-mass black hole just above the atmosphere, which will be constantly powered by this lovely pendant this twirp here so graciously provided me, it will only be 24 hours before Earth is sucked into oblivion!" With that, she threw her head back and laughed hysterically and evilly.

"Stop her, Jimmy!" Carl shrieked, quaking in fear.

"With pleasure!" he snapped, and pressed a button on his watch, shouting, "Magnetize!" The blast from his watch made the necklace temporarily magnetically attractive, causing it to be magnetically attracted to Goddard's metal in a snap. The machine immediately powered down, sending Beautiful into a fit of rage.

"Neutron!" she screamed, "You and your pathetic friends have angered me for the LAST time! I'm gonna wipe you out SO bad that even your descendents ten generations from now will still be mourning your demise!"

"Hello?!" Cindy barked, "If you eliminate us, we won't _have_ any descendents!"

"Exactly my point, twirp!" Beautiful hissed.

Jessica retrieved her necklace and refastened it around her neck, then exclaimed, "You are gonna be in a world of hurt!"

"That does it!" Jimmy told her angrily, then ordered, "Goddard, my freeze ray!"

He barked and handed it to his master from out of his back hatch.

He took it from his robotic dog and immediately zapped Beautiful's machine, causing it to go into overdrive and sound an alarm while it shook violently.

"I think now would be a good time to get outta here!" Sheen yelled, pointing at the hovercar.

As the group made a bolt for it, Jimmy additionally zapped Beautiful, freezing her in the process of running toward them. They lept into the hovercar, he started it up, and they sped outta there just as the machine exploded, sending Beautiful flying into the air and landing in the ocean, floating off into the distance.

Once they were several hundred yards from the explosion, Jimmy slowed the hovercar back to its normal speed, then piloted it into midair and placed it on autopilot as they cruised back to Retroville.

On the way back, Cindy asked Jessica, "So, Jessica, I gotta ask... Why in the hell are you so freaked out by water?!"

"Yeah, what gives, Jessica?!" Sheen agreed, sporting a weirded out look on his face as he turned to face her from his seat in the front of the hovercar.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she told them firmly, her arms folded, "So what if I'm afraid of water? What's the big deal?"  
"'What's the big deal?'?!" Jimmy gasped, not believing what he was hearing, "Over two-thirds of this planet is covered with water, and it's part of our everyday lives! You can't avoid it forever! Life can't survive without it!"

"Way to put him into 'overdrive', Jessica...," Libby muttered to her in a low voice.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but Cindy stopped him and ordered, "Neutron, could we do without a lecture just this once, _please?_"

"Sorry," he admitted, blushing.

"Anyway, why are ya so afraid of water?" Libby wanted to know.

"Big deal. So I'm afraid of water... Could we please just leave it at that?!" Jessica pleaded.

"Okay, fine," Sheen agreed begrudgingly, and the rest of them voiced a similar statement as they returned home.

Just what WAS Jessica's big secret?! Why did she try so hard to keep herself dry?! And will Beautiful return for a vengeance?!


	6. Chapter 6- Home AND School Trouble

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 6: Trouble at Home and School

By the time they got back to Retroville, it was going on 10:30 at night. On the way back, Jimmy had had to refuel his hovercar, and that took several hours with the limited resources he had around him. Just before the full moon rose, Jessica had them blindfold her until she got in her house. They hesitated at first, but gave in after lots of persuasion on her part. She was convinced that if she didn't look at the moon or its reflection, she wouldn't react to it in any way. Thankfully, it wasn't at the zenith of the sky just yet...

Jimmy settled his hovercar down gently into his front yard, thankful that they'd gotten home safely. "Now THAT little incident was a close one, wouldn't you say? ?" Jessica breathed, feeling her way out of the hovercar as the others got out.

"She may be beautiful and gorgeous, but still, that is ONE wicked chick! !" Sheen agreed heartfully.

"Yes, well, thankfully, we're through with her for a while!" Jimmy added, "Now, let's head home..."

"Hello?!" Jessica sharply reminded them, "I'm _blindfolded_ here! !"

"Everyone else, head home. I'll get Jessica to her house," Libby offered, taking her hand.

"Thanks, Libby," she thanked her, heading with her to her home right next door to Jimmy's place. All too soon, Jessica's cell began ringing with the chorus of the song "Shout to the Lord"_._

Reaching into her pocket with her free hand, she picked it up, pressed "talk", and answered it, saying, "Hello? ?"

It was her brother on the other end. "Jessica, you're in big trouble! !" he informed her.

"Ugh, Travis?!" she hissed, "What do YOU want?!"

"Mom's worried sick about you! ! Get your butt in gear and get home right now!" Travis snapped, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm about to walk in the front door right now, sheesh! !" Jessica barked, and hung up as Libby walked her up to her front door.

"There, you're home. May I go now? ?" Libby wanted to know, annoyed.

Taking off her blindfold as she went inside, she relented, "Go ahead, Libby. It's late..." After she shut the door behind her, she muttered, "Boy, am I in for it now..."

"Jessica Madison Griffen! !" came her mother's voice from the dining room.

She just groaned and joined her mom in the dining room, then asked while glancing around the house to make sure the blinds or drapes were shut, which they were, "Ugh... What is it _now_, Mom? ?"

"You've been gone for several hours, and you missed dinner, young lady! You were supposed to be in bed half an hour ago! WHERE were you?!" Glenda demanded, her arms folded with a stern look on her face.

"Well, we had a minor emergency... My priceless necklace had been stolen from right under my nose, so we had to track down who took it and get it back from her. That in itself didn't take all that long, but Jimmy's hovercar ran out of fuel in the middle of the wilderness in the mid-afternoon, and it took him several hours to concoct a fuel that would get him back here," Jessica calmly explained.

"Well, at least you're home safe, but that's still no excuse for being late...," her mom told her firmly, "Now, get upstairs before it gets too late. We'll discuss your punishment tomorrow after school."

She started to head upstairs, but paused and turned to face Glenda and added, "Before I head up there, I must inform you that while we were on our little mission, an accident happened. But don't freak out, because a miracle happened shortly afterword! The villainess had shot Jimmy with a fatal electrifying gun, and before any of us knew it, he'd breathed his last! But here's the twist: I'd previously told him and his friends about what my necklace symbolizes, so his friend Cindy suggested that I pray for him to be healed, and guess what?! It worked! ! The good Lord above healed him through me!" Then she hurried up the stairs to her bedroom to ready herself for bed.

Glenda retreated to the living room and sat in the armchair, thinking, _Hmm... Perhaps I was a bit too harsh on her. I don't believe it! My Jessica, through the hands of God, performing a miracle and raising the dead! ! I am SO proud of her for being so faithful!_ She then turned in for the night to her bedroom and got herself ready for bed.

Meanwhile, at the Neutron household, Jimmy had just finished explaining what had happened that day to his mother, Judy, with Goddard providing videological proof of the miracle that had happened in the desert.

"Now, Mom...," he concluded after Goddard finished the video, "I know it's hard to believe, but there actually _may_ be an ever-present higher power in the heavens above us. You've just witnessed proof that prayer to this higher power is not as futile as I'd formerly believed it to be, seeing as through this higher power I was raised from the grave. I am eternally grateful for Jessica calling upon it so she could heal me through it!"

"Well, I'm just glad you're alive and well now, sweetie. Go get yourself ready for bed, please," Judy replied.

"Alright, Mom. C'mon, boy," he agreed, motioning for Goddard to follow him, who bounded up close behind his master as they headed upstairs. He got himself ready for bed and was in bed and asleep within twenty minutes.

During the night, a strange noise in the night caused Jessica to stir, a sort of scratching and yowling sound... She tried to ignore it, but it got more persistent with each passing moment. Finally, she pulled up her sleeping mask and got out of bed, making her way around her room while trying not to trip over anything, since the drapes were tight shut and it was very dark. The sound originated from her bedroom door, so she opened it and as soon as it was wide enough, in shot her cat like a speeding bullet.

"Yipes!" she exclaimed quietly, dodging her kitty, "Careful where you're running around, Gloria! You silly kitty!" She noticed that she had been wanting to get at her food dish on the built-in bay window platform, chowing down on it with a voracious appetite. Then she added, as if her cat would pay attention to her, "Just be careful around those curtains. You know how crazy I get when it's a full moon out!"

Gloria looked up momentarily from eating her catfood and voiced her opinion in her own way, "Raow? ?" Then she went back to her meal.

Jessica just laughed quietly to herself, then got back into bed and under the covers again, putting her sleeping mask over her eyes. She was back to sleep within moments...

The following morning, at the Vortex residence, Cindy awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. She shut it off, rubbed her eyes, and sat up with a big stretch. "The last day before Spring Break, finally!" she gratefully told herself, getting up to dress herself and other such tasks to get ready for school. She put on her usual outfit and pulled her hair back into her typical ponytail, brushed her teeth, and headed downstairs to grab a quick breakfast and head out the door, grabbing her backpack in the process.

When Cindy walked up to the bus stop, she noticed that Libby was the only other one there so far. _So far, so good!_ she thought to herself, then greeted her best friend with a wave, "Hey, Libs! You amped up for Spring Break?!"

"Oh, you know it, girl!" Libby gratefully agreed with her, "I am SO ready for this quarter to be over!"

At that moment, Carl headed up to the girls, seeming to have heard what they said, and interjected, "But don't forget... Exams are in the final quarter, ya know!"

"Oh, hey, Carl. Spring Break first, then we'll focus on end-of-the-year things!" Cindy informed him with an eager grin on her face.

"What's first? ?" Sheen hollered as he hurried to catch up to them before the bus arrived, "What did you say?"

"Hey, Sheen," Carl greeted him, "She said that Spring Break stuff comes first before the final quarter of the school year. Frankly, I agree with her!"

"Comic-Con, here I come! !" he proclaimed excitedly, rubbing his hands together with glee.

Libby just shrugged, then turned to face Jessica's house and noted, "That girl better hurry up. The bus will be here pretty soon!"

As if she'd heard her say that, Jessica hurried up the group of teens, an energy bar and a pouch of orange juice at hand, gasping, "Phew, I'm here on time, though just barely!"

"Took the words right outta my mouth, Jessica!" Cindy remarked with a giggle, "Now, all we have to wait for is Neutron, provided he can get here on time for once and not miss the bus again..."

"Ain't that the truth...," Libby said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the notion.

A few minutes later, Jessica checked the time on her watch and pointed out, "It's 7:45. And he's still not here yet... He'd better skeedaddle if he wants to get to the bus on time!"

As if on cue, the bus pulled up almost immediately afterwords, opening its door for the students to enter.

As they were boarding, a faint holler got their attention combined with the sound of a miniature jet engine firing. Taking her seat by the window, Cindy remarked sarcastically, "Here he comes now. Typical Neutron...!"

"Hold it! !" Jimmy hollered as he rapidly approached on his jetpack, then circled around the front of the bus and reached the doorway about to close, "Don't even THINK about driving off without me!"

The living daylights scared out of him, the driver reopened the door and he gratefully flew in, shutting off his jetpack once he was inside. "Now, that's more like it!" the teen genius said approvingly, selecting a seat near Carl and Sheen.

The driver then shut the door and headed toward Lindbergh High, arriving about five minutes later and giving the students ten minutes to get to class on time or face getting a tardy note.

Right as they headed up the steps to the school's entrance, a water balloon suddenly sailed at them out of nowhere, it seemed, and it was aimed right at the new girl, Jessica! Luckily, she saw it coming, and dodged it just in time, but Cindy didn't see it coming and it hit her right in the back of the head, drenching her whole upper body!

With that, she screamed and demanded furiously, "Alright, which one of you MORONS did this to me?! ?!"

Butch came running up behind her and told her apologetically, cringing, "I'm so sorry, Cindy! ! I was aiming for the new girl, but she dodged it and it ended up hitting you! Oh, I'm in for it, now...! !"

She was about to punch the living daylights out of him when the warning bell resounded.

"Darn, that bell! I'll take care of YOU later, Pakovski!" Cindy hissed, and rushed off with the rest of them to their respective classes before they could be counted tardy.

Taking her seat next to Libby in their first class, she sharply whispered to her, "Libs, just LOOK at what that freak _Butch_ did to me! I mean, these clothes are dry-clean ONLY!"

Libby couldn't help but snicker at her friend's pathetic appearance, though, when Jimmy, Jessica, Sheen, and Carl entered and saw Cindy dripping wet, they all burst out laughing hysterically as they took their seats, with Jessica taking the seat right behind Carl and to the right of Sheen.

"Fine. Go ahead and laugh," she snapped, looking at each of them near her, "But Butch will get what's coming to him!" Then she whipped her head around to face the blackboard, slinging some water on a couple of the students. Including _Jessica!_


	7. Chapter 7- Another Side to Jessica

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 7: Another Side to Jessica...

Right at that moment, Miss Fowl entered the classroom and announced, "Good morning, students! Today, I see-!"

"Hall pass, please! !" Jessica urged, rushing up to the front of the classroom, "Bathroom! !"

"Okay, okay! Here!" she gave in, giving her the pass, "If ya gotta go, then go! I'll introduce you-"

But before she finished her sentence, Jessica was already out of sight.

"-to the rest of the class later. What a straaaange girl!" Miss Fowl noted aloud.

"Yeah, I'LL say," Libby agreed, staring with the rest of the class at the open classroom door still swinging from when Jessica exited rapidly.

Meanwhile, the new girl quickly dashed into the nearby bathroom, into a stall, locked it, and seated herself on the toilet after shutting the lid. At that moment, her transformation was instantaneous: she immediately got a bright pink scaly bra that had a single, wrap-around strap and a brilliant purple tail about three and a half feet long, all instead of the outfit she was sporting only moments before. "That was almost TOO close! !" she gasped, breathing heavily, "They almost saw me pop a tail! I still don't get why He bestowed this ability upon me, but there's nothing I can do about it, I guess..."

All too soon, she heard the bathroom door open with someone calling, "Jessica? Are you alright? ?" She immediately recognized the voice: Cindy! She could NOT let her find out about her secret! She frantically grabbed some toilet paper and rubbed her arm where the droplets of water still were until she was dry again. Jessica felt herself almost instantly change back to her human form with the clothes she was wearing beforehand: a pink soccer ball t-shirt, light blue denim capris, and some sky blue tennis shoes with white socks. "Phew! That was close!" she breathed thankfully.

Cindy heard that and asked, "What was close? Is that you in there, Jessica?"  
"Yes, it's me, Cindy," she admitted, hopping down from her perch, unlocking the door, and coming out of the stall, "Just a minor, um, feminine emergency, is all..."

"You could feel it coming, couldn't you?" Cindy verified, a look of relief on her face.

"Yeah, but I got here just in time," Jessica told her gratefully.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she informed her new friend, opening her arms wide for a hug, not realizing she was still sopping wet.

"Uh, no thank you! You're still wet!" Jessica politely refused, backing away from her a bit.

"Okay, what is WITH you, Jessica?!" Cindy demanded, hands on her hips, "Anytime you're near water, you just _have_ to stay as dry as possible! What is going ON with you?! And why did we have to blindfold you last night before the moon rose?!"

"Um, I can't tell you," she stated nervously, blushing hard.

"And why not?!" Cindy insisted, stepping a bit closer to her.

Continuing to back away from Cindy the closer she got to her, Jessica persisted, "I just _can't_, okay?! The government, once they found out about me, would put me up for display like I was some freak show and perform countless so-called 'experiments' on me!"

Now Cindy was really confused. "Why would they do that to you? You're just an ordinary teenager!" she questioned.

"No, I'm not," Jessica corrected her, "Did you realize that I was adopted around age seven into my current family?"

"I had no idea, Jessica! And what in the hell does _that_ have to do with the government doing weird things to you if they found out about your secret?!" she wanted to know, extremely baffled.

"You have no idea, girl...," the new girl remarked, "It's hard to explain without someone getting all weirded out and them wanting to blab about it to everyone they met, including people under high authority."

"Hey, if you told me, I wouldn't tell anyone! Although, I would have an extremely hard time keeping it from my best friend Libby... And boy, is that girl a blabbermouth!" Cindy explained in an attempt to win her over.

"IF I were to tell you, you'd have to SWEAR that _no one_, other than the two of you, finds out! Otherwise, I'd be more dead than a bleeding seal in a feeding frenzy of sharks!" Jessica said cautiously, making sure no one was going to come in the bathroom anytime soon.

"You have my word! The only person I'll tell is Libby; I swear it! !" she promised with a nod of her head and her hand on her heart.

"You swear?!"

"Of course! You have my solemn vow, girl!" Cindy told her.

"Okay, as long as you don't tell ANYONE else...," Jessica replied, then instructed, holding out one of her arms, "Squeeze some of the water from your hair onto my arm."

"Say what?!" she gasped in protest, but Jessica wouldn't back down that easy.

"Just do it!" the new girl insisted.

"Okay, here goes!" Cindy gave in, and squeezed some of the water from her ponytail onto her outstretched arm.

"Now, watch. In just ten seconds...," she additionally put in, counting down in her head. Right on the dot, just like she said it would, she transformed back into her fishtail form and landed right on the bathroom floor, sitting upright right afterwords.

"You're a- a- a...! !" Cindy stuttered, hardly able to take in what she was seeing, "But I thought mermaids didn't exist!"

"Oh, we exist, alright! We're just discrete," Jessica calmly informed her, "I don't remember much before I was adopted at age seven... I remember my mom telling me she found me near the shore, by myself laying on a sand dune wearing a makeshift dress from a discarded tablecloth and a couple safety pins, and unconscious. She picked me up, took me to her home in Portland, Oregon, and officially adopted me the next day. Hand me a few paper towels, will ya?"

"Oh, sure thing, Jessica!" Cindy agreed, pulling some from the dispenser and handing them to her. She took them, dried off her arm thoroughly, and almost immediately returned to her human form. She then added, "So that's why you were in that bathroom stall? 'Cause you popped a tail when I accidentally flung water on you?"

"Precisely," Jessica concluded, then put in, rising to her feet, "We'd better get back to class! Miss Fowl is probably wondering what's taking us so long! And don't forget your hall pass!"

"Right!" she told her, "It's in my back pocket."

"So's mine," Jessica informed her, "When I changed back from having a tail, it was still in my pocket where I'd originally put it. Let's go!"

The two girls rushed out as fast as they could so they could still catch most of the lesson for that period. Once they were in the classroom, they slowed their pace as they went back to their seats.

Noticing that something strange was up, Jimmy leaned over to Cindy and whispered, "Cindy, what in the name of Albert Einstein is going on? ?"

"Personal issues," she whispered back, "Rather not discuss..."

He raised an eyebrow out of suspicion, but quietly replied, "Well, okay, Cindy..."

"Well, I see our new student is back from her bathroom break!" Miss Fowl observed, motioning for her to approach the front of the classroom, "Would come up and introduuuuce yourself, please BRAWK? ?"

"Certainly!" Jessica agree, and walked up to the front of the classroom, faced them, and introduced herself, saying, "I'm Jessica Griffen. Nice to meet you all!" When she finished, she returned to her seat and waited patiently for Miss Fowl to resume the lesson.

Sometime later, around noon, the bell rang to signify that it was time for lunch. "Finally! I'm starved! !" Sheen exclaimed as he and the rest of the students got up and headed to the cafeteria.

Once there, they each got in line to get their meals. Thanks to Jimmy's Cafeteria-Food-Enhancer, they each got whatever they wanted. They each took their trays and all sat at different tables, with Jimmy, Cindy, Jessica, and the rest of them at the same one.

Sheen was the first to speak up, saying after he sat down to eat, "You've been acting really weird lately, Jessica... What's up?"

"Yeah, like with this morning?" Carl added, taking a bite of his pizza slice, "Why'd you run away after Cindy accidentally got a little water on you?!"

"What is WRONG with ya, girl?!" Libby snapped, fairly irritated with Jessica acting so mysterious around them.

"I have a theory, but it's highly irrational-!" Jimmy began to reply, but was interrupted by Jessica.

"Don't... say... a _word! !_" she sneered, well aware of how brilliant he was at figuring things out with that genius mind of his.

"Excuse me?!" he remarked, shocked at her sudden interruption, "That was highly uncalled for!"

"I agree," Libby interjected, "Could ya try to be a LITTLE more polite, girl? ?"

"Sorry...," Jessica apologized, a little embarrassed, "Guess I got a little carried away, there..."

"A _little?!_" Sheen gasped, annoyed. He gave it a little thought, then started to snap, "Jeez, you were almost as bad as Eustace-! OW! ! ! My stomach!" He doubled over in pain while embracing his stomach because Libby had firmly elbowed him there in response to his rude statement.

"Don't be rude! !" she scolded him, giving him a cold stare with her chocolate eyes.

Jessica couldn't help but snicker when she saw that. There was something about Sheen that always made her laugh hysterically. _Guess all his rude humor, pranks, and silliness is growing on me! It's hilarious! !_ she said to herself thoughtfully.

Cindy, though, just scowled at him and remarked after a bite of her spaghetti, "Keep that up and you're gonna get yourself a one-way-ticket to the principal's office, Sheen...!"

"Sorry...! !" he hastily admitted, blushing fairly deeply.

_You better be...!_ she thought to herself, then a sudden thought hit her, with her saying to herself, _Wait a minute... Didn't Jessica say I could also tell Libby about her secret? It looks like we have twenty minutes left for lunch, so that's gonna work out perfectly for us!_ She finished the last of her lunch, went to put away her tray, then returned to the group and said firmly, "Jessica, Libs, could I see the two of you for a little while? ?"

The two girls had already finished their lunch and put away their trays before Cindy'd said that, so Libby nodded her approval and Jessica added, "Sure! Let's go, Libby!" They got up from their seats and followed her out of the cafeteria, wondering what it was Cindy wanted...

The boys watched them leave in confusion, wondering why they left when there was still twenty minutes left for lunch period. "Dude, girls are so weird...," Sheen commented, pointing in the direction they'd gone.

"I'll never attempt to understand the female mind again, not after what happened when Cindy and I switched places five years ago! !" Jimmy told them with a light shudder, "Now THAT was a nightmare!"

"Dude, don't even go there...!" Carl gently retorted, covering his mouth in an attempt not to barf, but just burped instead.

Meanwhile, Cindy had brought Jessica and Libby into the girls' bathroom, for one reason and one reason only... To show Libby what she'd witnessed that morning.

"Okay, ya brought us here for a reason, girl, so spill it," Libby told her best friend, a stern expression on her face.

"Alright, alright...," Cindy gave in, then turned to face Jessica and asked, "You ready? ?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess," she agreed.

"Okay. Libs, we have something to show you that's absolutely _mind-blowing_, but you can't tell ANYONE. Especially not Carl or Sheen! ! First, you need to guard the door to make sure no one's coming in here, okay?" Cindy explained firmly.

"I'm on it," Libby said with a nod, and walked up to the door, blocked it, then faced them again. "Now what is it that's so spectacular, girl?!"

"Jessica, if you will?" she requested, gesturing at one of the sinks.

"You got it," Jessica commented, walking over to the sink, turning on the water, and wetting her hands. She then returned quickly to her spot and sat on the floor.

"So, she wet her hands. Big deal-!" Libby started to remark sarcastically, then was taken aback as she witnessed Jessica's bizarre transformation, "WHOA! ! ! ! You're a _mermaid?!_ But I thought-!"

"Nope! We're real, alright, but very discrete," she interjected, a smirk on her face and her arms folded.

Just then, the bell that signaled the end of lunch period rang, sending a chill down all three girls' spines. "Yikes! If we don't get to class soon, we're gonna be counted tardy!" Libby gasped.

As Cindy handed a few paper towels to Jessica, she looked over at Libby and reprimanded her sternly, "Now, remember, not ONE word of this to _anyone_, got it?!"


	8. Chapter 8- Relationships Tested

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 8: Relationships Tested

Libby hesitated for a moment, thinking about what Jessica had just asked her...

Jessica finished drying her hands, returned to her human form, and stood up to face her, insisting, "Libby, this information _cannot_ get out! ! Do I have your solemn vow that you'll keep it that way?!"

"C'mon, we gotta get to our next class!" Cindy urged, opening the bathroom door, "And can we count on you, Libs, _please?!_"

Heading out the door with them, Libby promised as they hurried to get their books for their next class, "Of course, y'all can count on me! This won't be like the time we were kid newscasters, _that's_ for sure! !"

After they each got their books, they happened to hurry past Jimmy, Carl, and Sheen as Jessica gratefully replied while they rushed to their class, "Thanks EVER so much for promising to keep my secret, Libby!"

"What are friends for, girl?" Libby concluded as they hurried into the classroom.

All three boys heard what had been said, and as they gathered their books, they discussed it for a moment. "There they go harping on about Jessica's big secret again! I mean, what is it that Cindy and Libby know, but we don't?!" Sheen griped, staring off in the direction the girls had gone after shutting his locker.

"Tell me about it!" Carl agreed, equally confused while getting his supplies and closing his locker, "Why is it that she can't touch water? It's driving me crazy!"

"Or look at the full moon, for that matter!" Jimmy added, heading towards their next class with his supplies at hand and them following close behind him, "She's really been acting peculiar lately, and I might have a theory as to why, but it's highly unorthodox. Jessica probably isn't even a fellow _homo sapiens_ such as ourselves, but something entirely different. I just can't figure out what that might be..."

"She could be an alien from another galaxy! That's what UltraLord is!" Sheen proposed excitedly as they walked into the classroom.

"Sheen, get a life!" Carl remarked, taking his usual seat, "He's not even real!"

"Not listening! !" he snapped, plugging his ears while taking his seat.

Libby happened to notice that and ordered, "Sheen, do us all a favor and _grow UP_..."

"Yeah, Ultra-Dork!" Cindy interjected, glaring at him, "Don't make me hurt you!"

Sheen just gave her an angry look and blew a strawberry at her, which she did right back at him.

"Snap out of it, both of you! !" Jimmy scolded firmly, opening one of his textbooks, "Don't make me report you to Principal Willoughby!"

"Fine," Sheen muttered, crossing his arms and giving Cindy a death glare.

"Whatever...," she hissed, a scowl on her face. _Please... Like he'd actually go through with that, anyway..._ she thought to herself sarcastically as Miss Fowl entered the classroom.

"Now, children, settle down BRAWK! !" she announced, "It's time for the history test we've all been preparing for!" She proceeded to hand out the tests to each of them, that is, all except Jessica. Once she was finished, she added as she retreated to her desk, "Any questions?"

Since Cindy had noticed that Jessica didn't receive a test, she raised her hand.

"Yes, Cindy?" Miss Fowl asked.

"Miss Fowl, why didn't Jessica get a test?" she wanted to know, puzzled.

"Well, she only arrived yesterday, meaning she never had a chance to study for it, so she didn't get one," Miss Fowl calmly explained, then questioned, "Any moooorre questions? ?"

No answer.

"No? Then you may begin your tests now," she instructed, taking her seat and going through homework papers to grade them.

_I smell another "A++" headed my way!_ Jimmy thought confidently to himself, starting on the first question, _I'm gonna SMOKE Cindy with this one! As usual!_

When he wasn't looking, Cindy just looked briefly over to her right and stuck her tongue out at him, telling herself, _I'm not gonna let him win THIS one! ! I'll show him!_

Forty minutes later, Miss Fowl called time, and gathered up each of the tests from them, taking them to her desk to grade them. When she finished, she handed them back to her students accordingly.

"So, Neutron," Cindy remarked smugly, "What did ya get this time? ?"

He just held his up to her with a proud expression on his face and told her, "A++, as usual... And your pathetic grade is...?"

She gasped angrily at his, glared at her "A" begrudgingly, then laid her forehead in the palm of her hand and admitted, "An 'A'. A measly, little 'A'..."

Jimmy couldn't help but laugh to himself at how he hopelessly left her in the dust academically...again.

At that moment, the bell rang to signal the end of the day; they got to leave school early because of Spring Break. The students simultaneously each left their desks to head to their lockers and grab their things for the trip home.

Just as Sheen was about to exit the classroom, Miss Fowl called for him, "Sheen! ! ! I need to see you for a moment!"

"Just a minute," he told his friends begrudgingly, "I think Miss Fowl wants to tell me I got yet another 'F'... Here we go again!" With that, he trudged back into the classroom and up to Miss Fowl's desk, preparing himself for the bad grade lecture again...

Cindy watched him head back in and smirked, remarking as she gathered her things, "Pfft, what a pathetic sight THAT is! Will he ever learn?!"

"Will he ever learn what?" Jessica asked, confused.

"That nothing _whatsoever_ on our tests have _anything_ to do with his STUPID obsession! He's been like that since Kindergarten!" she informed her with a good laugh.

"He's cute, but that UltraLord thing of his can get pretty annoying sometimes!" Libby admitted, then noticed him walking out of the classroom, "Hey, here he comes!"

That got Jimmy and Carl's attention as he walked up to them with a solemn look on his face. "So, what grade did you get, Sheen?" the teen genius wanted to know, shutting his locker and putting on his jetpack.

He kept the same expression on his face as he looked at each of them for a moment, then suddenly grinned triumphantly as he exclaimed pretty loudly, showing them his test, "I got a 'C'! ! Can you BELIEVE it?!"

"Say WHAT?!" Cindy gasped, overhearing the news with her jaw dropped after she put on her backpack.

"Did I hear correctly, hon?! A 'C'? ?" Libby questioned, shocked by the news she overheard.

"You got it, babe! !" Sheen declared happily, putting it inside the door of his locker and attaching an UltraLord magnet to keep it there.

"Well, congratulations, Sheen! I'm very impressed!" Jimmy congratulated him with a high-five.

"Likewise! Congrats!" Jessica interjected, shaking his hand.

The six of them then headed out of the school as they discussed Spring Break plans amongst themselves.

Cindy piped up first as she said excitedly, "So, how about you girls coming over to my place for a pool party to celebrate the start of Spring Break?"

"Sounds good to me!" Libby agreed.

"Hey, what about us?!" Sheen protested, feeling left out.

"Yeah, Cindy! Why aren't us guys invited?!" Jimmy wanted to know, frustrated with her as usual.

"Duh! Cuz there's no boys allowed!" Jessica quickly answered for them, not wanting any of the three to find out her secret.

"Okay, you're hiding something, Jessica," Carl reprimanded her, "And we'd like to know what it is, right, guys?"

"Duh!" Sheen snapped, sick and tired of being left in the dark on the subject.

"Precisely!" Jimmy put in as they walked home since they'd missed the bus, "Your consistent refusal to give the three of us any information regarding this strictly implies that it, whatever it may be, is equally paradigm-shifting and mind-blowing, and may very well change the face of science as we know it!"

"Oh, brother!" Libby griped, "Ya _always_ hafta be in on everything, don't you, Neutron?!"

"I do when I'm on the verge of a scientific breakthrough, Libby!" he barked, "And she's the source of that breakthrough! I will NOT rest until I've discovered what Jessica has been hiding this whole time!"

_Ugh! ! This guy is NEVER giving up on this!_ Cindy thought to herself begrudgingly, slapping her forehead.

"There isn't anything about me that you need to know, Jimmy!" Jessica retorted, "I'm a normal teenage girl just like Cindy and Libby!"

At that, the two girls just burst out snickering to themselves in knowing that was a big fat lie on her part.

"Hey!" Sheen protested, "Cindy and Libby are in on it, too!"

"That does it! Sheen, Carl, head home. I've got some interrogation to attend to!" Jimmy hissed as they reached his front yard.

"Fine, whatever, Jim," Carl muttered as he headed next door, grabbing his friend's hand, "C'mon, Sheen. Let's go..."

"Fine by me!" he concurred, walking away with him.

"Okay, ladies...," Jimmy instructed, activating the lab's opening via his watch, "I need to see all three of you in my lab, please."

"Neutron, what IS the big-?!" Libby started to snap, but he interrupted her.

"_Now_, please! !" he insisted, pointing down at the opening in front of them.

"Alright, fine! Jeez, Neutron!" Cindy barked, hopping into the opening, followed by Jessica, Libby, then Jimmy in that order.

Once they'd righted themselves on the lab's floor, Jimmy glared at them with his arms folded and snarled, "Listen carefully, ladies. We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way; tell me now, or I'll resort to scientific measures to find out. It's your choice!"

"Neutron, get us outta here! We got a pool party t' plan! !" Libby demanded, hands on her hips.

"Not a chance! And just to make sure of it...," he remarked, activating his laboratory lock-down sequence via a sequence of keys on his keyboard, "I've placed this laboratory on lock-down mode to make SURE you won't escape! !"

The girls looked over at his computer screen and saw that, indeed, all of the possible escape routes were completely cut off, trapping them inside like prisoners!

"Okay, so you locked us in here, Nerd-tron. We're still not gonna tell you!" Cindy said bitterly, stubbornly holding her ground with her arms folded.

"Fine with me. I'll just expose her to water to get the answer I seek!" Jimmy concluded, then turned to Goddard and requested, "Activate the emergency water-sprinklers, boy!"

His faithful robotic canine barked and activated the sprinklers, them almost immediately sputtering on and raining water on top of them.

"Not if I can help it!" Jessica muttered to herself, slightly maneuvering her hand discretely and using her hydrokinesis abilities to concentrate the water distribution only to the pipes directly above him, the water pressure causing the sprinkler heads to burst and jet water on top of him in an instant.

Jimmy groaned as the water cascaded on top of him like a waterfall and griped as soon as the flow of water stopped, "Okay, how in the name of Albert Einstein did that just happen?!"

Jessica got Cindy and Libby's attention and whispered to them, "That burst of water was caused by me. I've got water-manipulation abilities!"

With that, all three of them burst out snickering, the very sight of Jimmy completely drenched with water being absolutely hysterical!

"This isn't funny, ladies! ! I've clearly got some indoor plumbing problems to attend to which are extremely expensive!" he shot back at them, only causing them to laugh harder in knowing that it was Jessica who'd caused that, causing him to conclude, "And so the mystery deepens... Water can't spontaneously contract into a small space and attack someone! There are clearly metaphysical forces at work here!"

At that, the girls immediately stopped laughing and got worried looks on their faces, with Cindy whispering to Jessica, "It sounds like he's onto you!" She just gulped while tugging at her shirt collar in response.

Once he'd gone to dry himself off, then returned to face the girls again, Jimmy snapped, "Now, I'm furious. I want to know why you won't tell me your secret, and I want to know right _now! ! !_"

All three girls just gave a sigh of defeat. There was no backing out now...

Then Jessica stepped forward and admitted, "It looks like you're never going to give up on this, are you, Jimmy? ?"

"You can be sure as heck I'm not! ! Now, are you willing to be truthful with me and tell me the whole, complete truth?!" he growled, looking her straight in the eye with his arms folded.

"Yes, I'm willing to do so... Dang, you're just as stubborn as Cindy is! Here's the reason why I avoid water at all costs... Cindy, spray me with your water bottle, if you would, please. It's time Jimmy finally knew the truth about me," she requested.

Cindy pulled it out of its holster attached to her belt, opened it, and proceeded to spray her with it as Jessica sat down where she was. "Now, watch what happens...," she instructed, counting down from ten in her head. Right on the dot, she transformed into her fishtail form again.

"Holy Herculaneum! ! !" Jimmy gasped after he saw her transformation, "I thought these creatures were only mythological!"

"Nope!" Jessica happily informed him, "We exist, alright, but we're very discrete. That's why we're never seen at the shore or anywhere near it."

"Incredible! ! I've never seen anything like it before!" he sputtered, hardly able to speak, "I'll need to run experiments and see just how you function! This changes the very face of science as we know it! !"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA... Hold on, TESTS?! Experiments?! This was exactly what I was afraid of! !" she freaked, arching up her tail and embracing it in a fetal position, literally trembling with fear.

"Hey, hey, hey, _hey! !_" Jimmy reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he stooped to her level, "You clearly don't know how I work scientifically. It's nothing invasive, I can assure you!"

She relaxed as she released herself from the fetal position and supported herself on her arms extended behind her, exclaiming in relief, "Oh, thank the good Lord above, what a relief! Now, can I count on you to keep my secret, as well, Jimmy? ?"

"Now, it would be exceedingly difficult to keep it from my friends, Carl and Sheen, if this wasn't as serious as it is, but there are things even they don't know, and this will be one of those things, so rest assured that your secret is safe with me, Jessica...," he replied confidently.

"Oh, my gosh, Jimmy, THANK you! ! !" Jessica gasped gratefully, opening her arms wide, "Group hug! !"

Cindy and Libby gladly joined the two at Jessica's level and hugged eachother, confident that her secret would be kept to themselves.

Or _would_ it...? ?


	9. Chapter 9- Pool Party

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 9: Pool Party

"Alright," Jimmy commented, "Now that I know that she's a mermaid, think I'd be able to join your little get-together now? ?"

The girls looked at eachother, nodded, and Cindy informed him, "After all this mess, I think we all deserve a little fun, rest, and relaxation! So, yeah, you're in, Neutron! !"

"_Alright! !_" he exclaimed, shooting his fist up into the air, "I'll unlock the lab now so you can leave, then I'll go get myself ready, okay? ?" A few keyboard sequences later, the lab was open to visitors again. He pressed the "eject" button and sent them quickly out of his lab, it thankfully drying off Jessica completely in the process, so she wouldn't be found out when she and her friends emerged outside. Afterwords, he proceeded to get himself ready for the party.

In the meantime, after they'd been ejected, the girls headed over to Cindy's place to get everything ready. As soon as they arrived in her backyard, Cindy requested, "Okay, Jessica and I will take care of the refreshments, and Libs, you take care of the music, alright?"

"You GOT it!" she happily agreed, heading inside to Cindy's room to get her stereo system, speakers, and their favorite artists. Once she retrieved them, she carried them downstairs and out into the pool area carefully and set them up on a built-in concrete ledge. She then headed to the garage to retrieve an extension cord, returning moments later and using it to connect the stereo to the exterior wall of the house. "Alright," Libby told herself once she'd finished, "Now to get myself dressed!" As she was heading to her place to get changed, she passed Cindy and Jessica as they were setting up a snacks table and informed them, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna head home t' change!"

"Okay!" Cindy replied happily, arranging the snacks on the table in a decorative manner, "Hurry back!"

"I'll arrange some of the pool chairs in the meantime, alright, Cindy?" Jessica wanted to know.

"Go right ahead, Jessica! I'll head inside to get some towels since I'm done with the snacks and drinks," she responded with a nod of her head, heading inside to do just that. She was back within a few minutes, laying them out on either a pool chair that Jessica had just arranged or on the concrete floor. "Phew!" Cindy breathed, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand a bit, "Just a couple more things and we can get this thing started!"

"Hey, girl!" Libby hollered from just several feet away as she returned, wearing a magenta and hot pink floral bikini and lavender sandals, "Ya need anything else done?"

"CUTE suit, Libs! Is that new?" she complimented her best friend.

"Yep! Just got it last week!" Libby told her, then additionally asked, "Need anything else?"

"Go get some sunscreen and sunglasses, will ya?" Jessica interjected helpfully.

"You bet!" she agreed, and headed inside to retrieve them.

"I'll head inside to see if there's anything else we need, okay? ?" Jessica volunteered.

"Go right ahead!" Cindy encouraged her, who headed inside a few moments later, then muttered, "Hmm... I think I'll take this opportunity to go ahead and change..." She headed inside and upstairs to her room, returning about ten minutes later donning a bikini that nearly mimicked the look of her classic halter top, dark green flip-flops, and a sheer bikini wrap with a green floral pattern with some hints of magenta.

At that moment, a familiar voice resounded from nearby, saying, "Hey, Cindy! I'm ready!"

Cindy whipped her head around and noticed Jimmy arriving, a deep blush covering her cheeks. He didn't normally see her in a swimsuit like this, so it was only natural that she was shocked, and perhaps a little embarrassed, as well.

He noticed that about her as he draped his ocean blue towel he was carrying over the top of a pool chair, and commented with a laugh, "You're blushing, Cindy! And why are you looking at me like that? ?"

Cindy caught herself staring at him, and she had a good reason to be. She found him quite attractive, since he was more built-up at sixteen than he was at eleven, and he was wearing ocean blue swimming trunks with red pinstripes on either side and a small, gold atom emblem next to them, as well as some burgundy sandals. She had to admit; he looked pretty hot! She found her heart racing at one and a half times its usual rate as she kept staring for a few moments, then realized what she was doing and looked away, blushing even harder.

Jimmy noticed that she hadn't said anything for a few minutes, so he questioned, "Uh, Cindy? Why are you blushing, and why were you staring at me a moment ago? ? If it helps, that's an attractive swimsuit you're wearing..."

"Um, thanks, I guess," she muttered, turning her head to face him again and managing a small grin, "And yours looks good on you, too, Jimmy..."

"Well, thanks, Cin-," he started to say, then wanted to know, taking a seat on one of the chairs, "Um, did you just call me 'Jimmy'?"

"I guess I did...," Cindy gave in, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly and sitting in another chair nearby.

Right then, Libby happened to walk out with the sunscreen and sunglasses and notice what was going on, so she interjected as Jessica returned, as well, "Well, isn't that the adorable picture? ?"

"How sweet! !" Jessica added in awe of the cute moment she was witnessing.

Cindy immediately looked away, blushing hard, seeing as she'd been caught again... Jimmy did the same thing, blushing equally as hard out of humiliation.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Libby suggested, "So, let's get started, shall we? ?" She headed over to the stereo, inserted a Beach Boys CD, and pressed "play". Nearly immediately, the fun-loving sounds of beach music began to resound throughout the entire area.

"Anyone hungry?" Cindy offered, gesturing at the snack table nearby, "We've got mini sandwiches, lemonade, Purple Flurp, assorted chips, and fruit salad."

"No, not yet," Jessica replied, walking quickly to the diving board, "Maybe in a little while! Right now, though, have I got something to show you! !" She ran up the diving board, jumped, and yelled as she dove in using the "cannonball" form, "Cannonball! ! !" The resulting splash got a little water on Cindy as she was putting on some sunscreen.

She just laughed and commented, patting herself dry with a towel, "Easy on the splashy entrance, Jessica! ! I'm putting on sunscreen!"

Luckily, Jessica could still hear quite well even though she was several feet underwater, having already transformed into her mermaid form. She swam up to the surface and said with a laugh and a flick of her hair, "Sorry about that! Got a bit carried away there!"

Libby giggled and added, "You're fine, girl! So, what is it that you wanna show us? ?"

"Watch and see!" she replied, and dove down to the deepest point in the pool, then shot up and jumped several feet out of the water, splashing back down an instant later. She resurfaced and swam up to the edge, saying proudly, "Was that impressive or WHAT?!"

"Unbelievable! !" Jimmy exclaimed, having witnessed the entire feat, "The only creatures I've known to jump that high, up until now, are whales and dolphins! I'm very impressed, Jessica!"

She just shrugged and remarked happily, "It's all part of being a mermaid..." Then, an idea hit her, so she slipped under the water again, then only resurfaced up to her nose and stuck one of her hand out, as well, slightly maneuvering it, causing a blob of water to rise out of the pool, and sending it to hover just a few inches over Cindy's head, who was shining up her sunglasses with a towel, unaware of what was above her. Then, Jessica released her mental hold on it and it plummeted right onto her head, catching her _completely_ off guard!

"What in the HECK-?!" Cindy gasped, finding herself soaking wet, "Who just threw a water balloon at me? ? Libby?"

Libby looked over from getting herself a snack and confessed, "Don't look at me! I didn't do that!"

With that, Jessica ducked under the water again, right as Cindy turned her gaze to Jimmy, and swam to the deepest point of the pool, settling down onto the bottom while looking upward with a teasing grin on her face and partially covering her mouth with her hand. Being a mermaid, she was able to hold her breath for remarkably long periods of time, the longest being close to thirty minutes. _She didn't even know what hit her! ! _she thought to herself, _This is gonna be good!_

Jimmy noticed Cindy staring daggers at him while he was programming his watch, so he looked over at her and asked, the sight of her being drenched causing him to snicker a bit, "What is it, Cindy? And why *pffft!* are you all wet?!"

"You threw a balloon at me, didn't you?" she snapped, her arms folded, a tiny grin sneaking its way onto her face.

"No way!" he retorted, "I was programming my watch the whole time! Besides, there aren't any shards of a water balloon near you, so it must've been maneuvered mentally..."

"I knew it! Jessica!" Cindy exclaimed, walking up to the edge of the pool's deep end and seeing her seated at the bottom, "Get up here!"

Still snickering mentally, she swam up to the surface and faced where Cindy stood. "What?" she wanted to know, trying to act innocent.

"I had a feeling it was you who used your hydrokinesis to land a water ball on me!" Cindy protested, trying in vain to hide a smirk on her face.

"Okay," Jessica admitted, bursting out laughing, "Ya got me! You should've seen the look on your face when it hit you! !"

Finally giving in, she replied while snickering, "Oh, it is ON now, Jessica!"

"Wait, hold it," Jimmy interjected, confused, "'Hydro-what' now?!"

"Hydrokinesis," Jessica explained, "The ability for my kind to maneuver and shape water in midair with my mind and just a slight movement of my hand. Watch..." She maneuvered her hand slightly again, and a ball of water rose from the pool and hovered in midair, then took the shape of a heart. Then she moved it to where it was hovering directly in between Jimmy and Cindy.

He took notice and questioned, "You're apparently trying to make a statement, aren't you?"

"I do NOT have feelings for the guy, Jessica!" Cindy tried to convince her, feeling herself flush deeply when she said that.

"Neither do I her!" Jimmy protested, feeling himself flush red, as well.

With that, she split the water heart in half and dropped each half on both of them at once, telling them while slapping her tail on the surface of the water, "Wake up and smell the pheromones, you two! You both have all the signs of having a crush! Think about it!"

Unbeknownst to any of them, a certain someone was spying on them with binoculars from a couple blocks away in their backyard...


	10. Chapter 10- Discovered!

New Girl in a New Town

Chapter 10: Discovered!

Sheen knew there had to be some reason for him and Carl to not be invited to Cindy's pool party, and he was obsessed with finding out why. It could've been because of how the two boys had always gotten on Cindy's nerves all the time with their antics, but that wasn't the reason this time. No, it was something much bigger than that to prevent them from going.

Sheen had invited Carl over to his house after he'd returned home after being rejected by the girls, determined to find out what the reason was. He had a sneaking suspicion that it had something to do with Jessica's big secret, and he wanted to know what it was! Once Carl had arrived, Sheen took him by the hand and immediately dragged him to his backyard, a pair of UltraLord binoculars hanging around his neck.

Carl took a seat on one of the lawn chairs, rubbing his hand that Sheen had gripped so strongly, and protested, "Sheen, be careful when pulling me by the hand! I bruise really easy! What are you gonna use those binoculars for, anyway?!"

"Weren't you paying attention when we were denied the chance to go to Cindy's pool party?! I'm determined to get over there if it's the last thing I do! ! !" Sheen scolded him, attempting to use his binoculars to watch what was going on, but had them pointing the wrong way, "Besides, I wanna know what Jessica's been hiding from us! Hey, I can't see them! They're too far away!"

Carl just rolled his eyes and remarked with a good laugh, pointing, "I think your binoculars are facing the wrong way, Sheen!"

"Oh!" he realized, and flipped them around to get a better look from laying on his stomach on another propped-up lawn chair, "That's much better! Now, let's see what they're up to... Hmm... My sweet Libby's dancing to some music; Cindy's having a snack; Jimmy's- Wait a minute! How in the HELL did Jimmy get over there?!"

"Jimmy?! I thought he couldn't go, either!" Carl gasped in disbelief, hardly believing his ears and hurrying over to where Sheen was, "Gimme those!"

Sheen reluctantly handed them to him, then his friend saw just what had been seen only seconds earlier: Jimmy was over at Cindy's place chatting animatedly with the girls. "I can't believe he got to go and we didn't! !" Carl griped, then looked around for Jessica, for he wanted to know her big secret, too, "Now, where's Jessica?!"

"Oh, yeah!" the hyperactive teen remembered, "I wanna know what her big secret is! ! She's been acting weird about it all day!"

"I know, Sheen!" he responded, highly annoyed, "I'm watching to see if I can find that out! Hey, there she is! She's in the pool, but only her head's sticking out...!"

"How can we find out anything about her if she's hiding in the pool?!" Sheen complained, sipping on a Purple Flurp he'd had with him.

"Wait a minute, Sheen. She's doing something!" Carl exclaimed, hardly believing what he was seeing.

"What? What is she doing?!" Sheen anxiously asked, nearly crushing his Purple Flurp can he was holding out of eagerness.

"She just jumped out of the water several feet into the air, and get this! !" he boasted excitedly, "She's got a long, purple fishtail! !"

"You and your silly, imaginary sea creatures, Carl!" Sheen replied sarcastically, not believing a word he said.

"I'm not making it up, Sheen! See for yourself!" Carl bragged, handing him the binoculars.

"Okay, but I don't really see the point-," he started to say, but when he looked through them, he too was flabbergasted by what he was witnessing two houses down, "She's jumping out again, and you're right, Carl! She's got a big, fat, purple tail! ! I can't believe she's a mermaid!

"And I can't believe Jimmy knew about this, but we didn't! ! Boy, is he ever gonna get a good talking-to about this! ! !"

"You don't mean we're gonna go over there, do you, Sheen?!" Carl sputtered, "It's rude when you're not invited!"

"I don't care!" Sheen ordered, setting down his binoculars on a nearby patio table, "This has gone on long enough, Carl! We're goin' over there to confront them about it!" Carl had to admit; Sheen could be really forceful when he put his mind to it!

"Okay, okay! ! I'm going, too, Sheen!" Carl gave in, the two starting to head over toward Cindy's place, "Yeesh!"

With that, and once Cindy's backyard was in sight, they charged up to it, only to find that the wooden gate was locked. Sheen groaned and slapped his forehead, then began banging on the door with his fist, yelling, "I know you guys are in there! Let us in now, or we'll blab Jessica's secret to the entire town! !"

"Ya got that right! !" Carl heartfully agreed.

"What the-?! Gas planet, Carl! ! SHEEN! ! !" Jimmy snapped, getting up from his post and walking up to the gate, the keys to unlock it conveniently hanging on a nail on his side, "This is a private party! ! Invites ONLY! !

"And how should _you_ know about any secrets?! No one here has any that you don't already know! !"

"That's where you're wrong, Jimmy! Carl and I saw through my binoculars just what Jessica's been hiding all day! She's a mermaid! !" Sheen scolded him, banging even harder on the gate.

At that, the four teens burst into forced laughter, trying to act like it was all a lie, since Cindy, Libby, and Jessica had heard what had been said, as well. "Are ya insane, Sheen? ?" Libby tried to convince him, laughing nervously, "Everyone knows mermaids, uh, don't... really... exist!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Carl challenged, "Can you _prove_ they don't?! If not, then don't bother, and let us in! !"

"We're so sure of ourselves, that, uh, we don't need to prove it! Right, Cindy?!" Jimmy stammered, turning to the blond a few feet away.

"Uh, yeah! That's right! And we're not letting you losers IN, either!" Cindy barked, though not without a lot of hesitation.

"Okay, suit yourselves!" Sheen remarked in a smart-alec tone, "We're just gonna go tell the town about her big secret, then! C'mon, Carl!"

"WAY ahead of ya, Sheen!" Carl hissed, starting to walk away with him.

"No, WAIT! ! !" the rest of the teens hollered at once, "Don't do it! ! !"

"Why shouldn't we?! You won't let us in!" Sheen shot back.

"If we let you in, do you SWEAR not to tell anyone about this?!" Libby pleaded.

"We promise!" the two boys vowed sincerely.

She relented and used the keys to unlock the padlock and chain on the gate, then opened the latch on the door, with the two charging in moments later, nearly toppling those nearby.

"Whoa, easy on the entry, guys!" Jimmy exclaimed, swaggering a bit but catching his balance on a nearby chair.

Sheen walked up to the edge of the pool and saw what he'd previously seen with his binoculars, the fact that Jessica was indeed a mermaid, who sheepishly waved at them, then jumped up and down immaturely for a couple moments and proclaimed, "I knew it! I KNEW IT! ! ! _Told YOU! !_"

Libby just sighed in annoyance and informed him, "Sheen, we knew long before you did. BIG difference there..."

"Good point...," he noted, then immediately glared at Jimmy and reprimanded him, "So, you knew about this while we didn't?! Some friend you are! !"

"UGH! ! ! Just _zip it_, Ultra-Freak! ! For once, it's not your fault," Cindy replied bitterly, "It was Jimmy who kept pushing us until we finally caved and showed him Jessica's secret!"

"Hey, when I realize that a potential scientific breakthrough has yet to be discovered, I do not rest until I've found out just what it is! !" Jimmy rebuked her firmly, slathering on some sunscreen, "Besides, now that you're here, don't you have any swimwear with you? ?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Carl reasoned, a bit confused.

Speaking up for the first time since he and Sheen had showed up, Jessica piped up while pointing toward Cindy's house, "Then, why don't you go change inside? ?"

"Don't need to!" Sheen reassured them with a smirk and his hands grasping the belt loop area of his black jeans, triggering a horrified response from the girls.

"Don't you even-!" Libby began to order him, but was interrupted when she became extremely shocked and speechless when she saw that he'd already pulled them down to his ankles.

"EEEWWW! ! ! !" Cindy shrieked while shielding her eyes with her arms held in front of her, with the other two doing the same, "There is NO way you're getting into MY pool like _that_, you pervert! !"

"Calm down, girls!" Jimmy told them reassuringly with a laugh, "You can put your arms down; he's wearing his trunks under his clothes! Sheesh, the things you girls will freak out over!"

"Yeah!" Carl agreed while slipping his off to reveal his swimsuit, "We slipped them on underneath just in case. Dang! !"

The girls pulled their arms down and saw that they spoke the truth, breathing a sigh of relief simultaneously. "Don't scare us like that!" Jessica scolded them when she'd resurfaced after her brief scare. She then swam a short distance away, turned her head towards the two boys, and slapped the water's surface violently with her tail, drenching the two from head to toe, causing her to burst out laughing like crazy!

Cindy, Libby, and Jimmy also witnessed this, and ended up laughing hysterically when they saw the looks on Carl and Sheen's faces. After she'd calmed down enough, Cindy gasped, still giggling, "Damn, you should've seen the looks on your faces! ! Priceless! ! !"

"Oh, it is ON now, Jessica! ! !" Sheen challenged, shaking his head to get rid of the excess water in his hair, "There any water balloons around here?!"

"Plenty!" Libby informed him, still giggling a bit and pointing, "There's a bag of 'em near the grill!"

He ran over and noticed that they were still unopened from their original packaging, saying to himself where no one could hear him, "Hmm... That gives me a good idea!" He took the bag and ran inside to the kitchen, snickering to himself.

"Wonder what Sheen's doing with those things...?" Cindy mused, glancing in the direction he'd gone.

"Well, knowing Sheen, he's bound to attempt some sort of prank on us," Jimmy observed intelligently, getting himself a glass of Purple Flurp, "Though I haven't the slightest clue as to what variation he has planned... Can't be good, though!"

After ten minutes had passed, Sheen popped his head out the sliding glass door and hollered, "Need your help, Carl!"

"Coming, Sheen!" he told him, getting up from his post and heading inside to assist him.

"Oh, boy...," Jessica gulped, seating herself on the edge of the pool, "Now Carl's in on it! I have a bad feeling about this!"

"Gee, ya think? ?" Libby remarked after finishing her fruit salad, "This is Carl an' Sheen we're talkin' about here! Things are about t' get nasty!"

Hearing the last statement Libby'd said while heading back outside, Sheen snickered and interjected while carrying a large mixing bowl filled with small balloons with Carl, "You BET things are gonna get nasty!"

They set the bowl on a nearby poolside table, then he picked up a water balloon and prepared to throw it, but it wasn't filled with water! "Throw it already, Sheen!" Carl egged him on, jumping up and down.

"Jeez, Carl! I just wanted to build up the suspense!" he remarked, aiming at Jimmy first, "Well, here goes!" He hurled it with all his might, and it landed on its target, getting its sticky contents all over him.

"Augh, Sheen!" Jimmy groaned, wiping his eyes and dropping his plastic cup of Purple Flurp, then happening to lick some off his fingers, "What in the hell IS this stuff?! Hmm... What in Einstein's name-?! Chocolate pudding?! !"

"You bet!" Sheen snickered, trying really hard not to laugh at him.

"Oh, you're gonna get it now, Sheen!" he challenged with a sneaky grin on his face, spying the bowl of yet unbroken pudding balloons, running over, and snatching one up for himself, "Prepare to face the wrath of Neutron!" He charged over to him and threw it with all his might, but Sheen saw it coming and ducked, it accidentally hitting Libby instead, getting the sticky, sweet confection all over her!

"Neutron!" she groaned with a slight smirk, wiping her own eyes and rushing over to grab another one, then aimed at Jimmy and threw it. But he saw it coming and also ducked out of the way, it landing on Cindy instead!

"Ugh, Libby! !" Cindy snapped, then saw the humor in it and started laughing hysterically, wiping pudding off her face and grabbing a balloon for herself, cracking, "Well, Sheen, looks like you've invented a new pool game! ! It's an all-out war, now! ! Everyone for themselves! ! !" With that, she hurled hers in Sheen's direction, this time him being splattered silly with the chocolatey snack!

He snagged another one and threw it in her direction, but she swerved and avoided it, it landing squarely on Carl! "Ha, ha! ! Gotcha, Carl!" he teased.

"I'm gonna get you, Sheen!" he playfully shot back, and grabbed another one, but due to his clumsiness, poor aim, and the pool area starting to get covered in pudding, he slipped and accidentally flung it at Jessica, it hitting her square in the back of her head. "Ow, my scapula... Sorry, Jessica!"

"Oh, it is on, now! !" she giggled, using her arms to pull herself to the poolside table and grab another balloon, then tossed it, it landing on Jimmy in the center of his back, "Take that!"

"Is that the best you've got, Jessica?!" he remarked playfully, running back to the bowl and finding only three balloons left and selecting one of them, then throwing it back at her and it landing square in the middle of her back, "Ha! Bullseye! ! !"

That got Libby thinking seriously for several moments, eying the huge mess they were making on Cindy's patio, then she mentioned, "Uh, guys? ? Sasha's gonna be mad when-!"

But they were hardly even listening to her, as Carl took one of the remaining two balloons and smacked Libby in the back of her head with it and exclaimed, "Finally got a hit! ! Yes! ! Gotcha, Libby!"

"Damn it, y'all! ! Listen t' me! !" she ordered a lot more firmly and aggressively, wiping the excess pudding off her hair, "We have made a HUGE mess here, and Cindy's mom isn't gonna like this one _bit_ when she sees-! !"

_Splat! ! !_ Jessica, who'd dried off in the sun enough to return to her human form, had picked up the last balloon and thrown it at Cindy, announcing while wiping off her hands, "Well, that was the last one, gang. What does anyone here suggest we do now-?"

By then, Libby'd had enough of their ignorance, so she practically yelled, furious, "SHUT UP! ! ! ! The least y'all could DO is _pay attention when I'm TALKIN' TO YOU! ! !_"

THAT got everyone's attention! They right away felt guilty for not listening to her and muttered replies of apology simultaneously.

"Heh, heh, sorry, Libs...," Cindy admitted while attempting to wipe herself clean, "What were you saying while we were so rudely ignoring you? ?"

She just sighed and repeated, "We've made a huge mess here, an' Sasha's not gonna like it when she gets home!"

"You're absolutely right, Libby," Jimmy noted helpfully, "We should probably spray ourselves clean with the garden hose before doing anything else..."

"And risk me being discovered?! No way! !" Jessica snapped.

"Good point... There's no telling _what_ our town would do once someone of authority found out she was a mermaid and spread the word about it!" he informed them, heavily concerned, "The rest of us will use the garden hose here, while Jessica can get cleaned up in the safety and security of my lab, alright? ?"

"Jimmy, you're a _lifesaver! ! !_ THANK you so much!" she thanked him gratefully, holding her hand up for a high-five, which he gladly returned, "You RULE! !"

"You are most certainly welcome, Jessica! Now," he continued, heading over to get the garden hose and returning shortly afterword, "Let's get ourselves clean, then we'll focus on getting the patio back to its original state."

"Don't worry about handling the hose, Jimmy. I'll take care of it!" Jessica reassured him with a wink, retrieving it from him.

"But, how-?!" Cindy began, but she was interrupted when Jessica interjected, "My hydrokinesis, duh! !"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that!" she realized, feeling kinda stupid.

"Precisely!" Jessica agreed, using her hydrokinesis abilities to manipulate the water in the hose to lift it and aim it at each of them, one at a time, then making the water spray out of it and thoroughly rinsing everyone there.

"Okay," Carl pointed out once the five of them were cleaned up, "Now, how in the heck are we gonna clean up this patio?! It's a wreck! !"

"I know just the dog for the job!" Jimmy answered him confidently, paging Goddard on his watch, "Goddard, head over to my present location, pronto! !"

He barked and was there within moments, arriving via "chopper mode". He landed in front of his master and cocked his head curiously, wondering what it was he needed.

"Active light-speed clean-up, boy, but just the patio region, since it's the only place that needs cleaning," he additionally instructed his dog.

Goddard barked obediently and immediately got to work, some random noises occurring while the entire area became a blur for several moments, then he came to a stop right afterword, leaving behind a spotless and neat patio with everything organized and in its place.

"Good BOY! !" Jimmy applauded him while patting him on the head, then put in, "Well, that was a ton of fun, but we need to head back to the lab so Jessica can get cleaned up without being discovered..."

The rest of them voiced their agreement as they made their way across the street and back to his lab, with all of them entering via the trap door next to his clubhouse he activated with his watch.

"Now, despite all of us being in the know about Jessica, we still have no clue whatsoever as to how her transformation to a mermaid and back again really occurs...," he told them once they were inside, "Such as, for example, if she gets soiled while in either state, when she transforms, does that disappear from her body when that happens, or does it remain on her despite her transformation?"

Jessica was about to answer, but Cindy interjected and added helpfully, "I think I might have an answer for that. When I first witnessed this today at school, and while in her human form, she had a hall pass stuffed in her pocket, but it disappeared when she transformed, then it reappeared once she was human again. I think the same principle could apply to anything she possesses on her body, whether its clothes, dirt, or anything else, which only happens when water touches her. Get the picture? ?"

"Whoa! Cindy, you're _brilliant! !_" he exclaimed cheerfully, and in his excitement, pulled her over by the wrist and briefly kissed her on the cheek, then stepped away rather quickly while blushing very hard.

"Uh, thanks? ?" she sputtered, not believing what just happened while putting a hand to her cheek, blushing fairly hard herself.

After they both regained their composure, Jimmy clarified, "So, once we rinsed her off, we'd get rid of the pudding still on her in her mermaid form, but once she dried off, the pudding that got on her in her human form would reappear... We've got ourselves a real dilemma here."

"Very true...," Libby noted, "So couldn't ya use water first, then use one of your gadgets to get the rest of it off once she was dry? ?"

Cindy high-fived her excitedly, saying, "Libs, that was brilliant! ! We'll do just that! Just which invention to use remains to be seen, though... Wait. What about that Quantum Replay you used on us about five years ago to get it off, Jimmy?"

"That'll work perfectly, thanks!" he said with a wink, then instructed his head computer, "VOX, activate the sprinklers, please!"

"Certainly, Jimmy," the automated voice responded, with the sprinklers activating right afterwords, soon drenching Jessica and transforming her back to a mermaid and cleaning up that state of her physical being.

Once he saw she was cleaned up, Jimmy added, "Deactivate sprinklers, please."

"At once, Jimmy," VOX replied, and the sprinklers soon shut themselves off again. Then he requested of his dog, "Goddard, dry Jessica off and hand me my Quantum Replay 9000, please!"

He barked and handed it to him from his back hatch while another feature of his dried her off, then he adjusted it to manipulate small areas at a time. Aiming at each area of her body that was soiled, he announced, "Here goes nothing!" When it was activated, each glob was intricately removed and landed on the floor beside her, cleaning her up thoroughly without a speck left to be seen.

When Jimmy finished, he wanted to know, "So, you feel thoroughly clean by now? ?"

Jessica felt all over her body for a few moments, then gave him a wink as she informed him, "Yep! You did an awesome job, Jimmy!"

"Gee, thanks! I do what I can!" he returned with a smile.

Little did they know that one of Jimmy's arch nemeses had witnessed the entire pool party scene from high above in the clouds, having big, evil plans forming in his devious mind...


End file.
